Winners and Losers as 2020 Grand National Weights Revealed

Interest in the 2020 Grand National at Aintree on Saturday 4th April, has intensified after  the weights were revealed at a gala lunch in Liverpool.

No surprises for guessing who has been allotted top weight after winning the world's most famous steeplechase twice. Tiger Roll and fellow Gordon Elliott trained, Gigginstown House Stud-owned horse Delta Work could both carry 11st 10lb if lining up on Merseyside.

Here's a quick explanation of how the Grand National weights work. The assessors at the British Horseracing Authority (BHA) are allowed to use their discretion over a racehorse's official rating and compress the handicap in a bid to attract the best entries made in the race to run.

There are winners and losers in that process which may or may not be reflected in the betting. Let's take a look at a few horses who could be well-weighted or not for the Grand National this year, on the premise that Tiger Roll does bid for an Aintree hat-trick.

Le Breuil

One of seven horses given a 145 rating, is last year's National Hunt Chase winner Le Breuil. While his stamina is not in doubt after that 4m success at the 2019 Cheltenham Festival, the Ben Pauling trained eight-year-old is far from certain to make the Grand National cut off an unchanged mark after running over the famous fences in the Becher Chase.

Le Breuil is number 71 on the list and a maximum field of 40 can run in the Aintree showpiece. He simply doesn't look high enough in the weights to get in and could need as many as 30 horses to defect.

If Tiger Roll runs, then Le Breuil will be racing from 1lb out of the handicap, due to the minimum weight a horse can carry being 10st. Yet, he is a prominent contender in the market with Paddy Power, who are taking bets on the Grand National for him at 16/1.

Kimberlite Candy

Despite finishing fifth in last season's Eider Chase at Newcastle and pulling up in the Irish Grand National around Fairyhouse, Kimberlite Candy has emerged as a staying chaser going places this season. Trained by Tom Lacey for leading Irish owner JP McManus, this eight-year-old has all but punched his ticket to Aintree.

Kimberlite Candy only needs a handful of horses higher in the weights not to take up their Grand National entries, and he'll sneak into the field towards the bottom of the handicap. His 10-length success in the Classic Chase at Warwick saw his rating rise 10lb to 150.

That is the mark that the handicapper has put him into the Grand National. It gives Kimberlite Candy a nice racing weight of 10st 4lb, assuming Tiger Roll runs, and you can see why he's 16/1 to win.

Magic Of Light

Last year's runner-up Magic Of Light gets 1lb of slack from her official rating of 159 on the day of the Grand National weights launch. The Jessica Harrington trained mare is 4lbs better off with Tiger Roll from when chasing him home on Merseyside.

It gives Magic Of Light a big shout off the revised terms from the 2019 Grand National. She is another 16/1 chance to go one better and is a clear winner from the compression of the weights.

Since finishing second at Aintree, the nine-year-old has won a Listed chase and Grade 2 hurdle against her own sex. There is every reason for connections of Magic Of Light to feel confident about taking the boys on again off the back of these favourable terms.